South Tyneside forms part of the Tynesideconurbation, the sixth largest in the United Kingdom, with a geographical area of 64.43 km2 (24.88 sq mi) and an estimated population of 153,700 (Mid-year 2010). It is bordered to the east by the North Sea and to the north by the River Tyne. A Green Belt of 23.64 km2 (9.13 sq mi) is at its southern boundary.

The main administrative centre and largest town is South Shields. Other riverside towns are Jarrow and Hebburn, while the villages of Cleadon, Whitburn and The Boldons border the South Tyneside green belt which borders Wearside to the south at Sunderland.

South Tyneside is represented by two Members of Parliament with two constituencies at South Shields and Jarrow (which also serves Hebburn and the Urban Fringe villages).

Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings, the early 20th century arrival of the Arabs and more recently the settling of people from the Commonwealth, notably the Indian sub-continent, and the European Union reflect the present-day culture of South Tyneside.

In South Shields (Latin 'Arbeia', Brythonic 'Caer Urfa'), excavations and a reconstructed fort are found at Arbeia (AD 160). This fort served as a garrison and an outpost of the Roman Empire, and is part of Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site. The hospitality strip at Ocean Road is famed throughout the region for its Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern and Chinese cuisine. Mill Dam, with former Customs House (now a theatre, cinema and arts complex), cobbled lanes and Mission to Seafarers centre, stands tribute to the long and proud history of shipping in the town and the river Tyne.

Bede's World in Jarrow (Anglo Saxon 'Gyrwe') is dedicated to the life of the Venerable Bede, the 'Father of English History'. The nominated World Heritage Site is straddled by two rivers - the Tyne and the Don. There is a medieval monastery (St. Paul's Church, AD 681), an Anglo-Saxon farm with rare breed animals and buildings constructed in original materials from that period, and the Georgian Jarrow Hall. The Jarrow Crusade of 1936 was a key event in the town's history and the original banner carried by the marchers to London can be viewed at Jarrow Town Hall.

The local identification of South Shields people with Arabs, which is widespread in the region, may have originated from the placename Arbeia (which is apparently a Latinized version of an Aramaic term meaning "place of the Arabs"), but there has also been a fairly sizeable Arab community in South Shields since the 1890s. This is also one hypothesised explanation of the term "Sandancer" (derived from "sand dancer") for people born and brought up in South Shields.

In May 2011 South Tyneside council took legal action against Twitter to try to discover the identity of a blogger who posted allegedly libellous statements.[3]

Three South Tyneside councillors and an official complained they were libelled in a blog called "Mr Monkey" [1]. The blog made accusations against the council's Labour leader Iain Malcolm, David Potts, the former Conservative leader who served as an UKIP councillor until his death in April 2013,[4] Labour councillor Anne Walsh and Rick O'Farrell, the council's head of enterprise and regeneration.[3]

South Tyneside Council faced significant criticism from British media, who focused on the use of taxpayer money at a time of severe budget cuts across the government services throughout the country. The Council have said the amount spent on the case was around £75,000 (US$123,712 as of 31 May) or less,[5] while media reports indicate the true cost is closer to US$400,000.[6] As of 24 November 2011, the council had failed to identify who their critic was.[7]

Critics also pointed out the council itself would not be allowed to take any action against the parties as evidence the court action demonstrated a misuse of funds.[8]

Shipbuilding and repairing, coal mining and exports, and the chemical industries declined from the latter half of the 20th Century, resulting in mass unemployment. In more recent years, however, this trend has reversed and South Tyneside attracts new industries, most notably in the service sector. There is still a considerable manufacturing base of ship-repair and offshore services, engineering, electronics, clothing, furniture, paper products, timber and small precision engineering.

South Shields town centre offers high street shopping with a regular market and museum & art gallery. Arbeia Roman Fort Museum offers a reconstructed Roman fort at the Lawe Top. The seafront offers the traditional British seaside experience - fairground, parks, boating lake and miniature steam railway, amusements and arcades, hotels, bed and breakfasts, caravan and camping sites, restaurants, amphitheatre, outdoor live entertainment, promenades, Groyne lighthouse and the mile-long South Pier. On the coast road to Whitburn, Marsden Rock, a limestone sea stack colonised by sea birds, is a longstanding tourist attraction. Less famous is the nearby Souter Lighthouse, the first in the world to be generated by electricity, and the secluded Jackie's Beach is a welcome change from the busier beaches of Marsden. Much of the coastal scenery in this area was until two decades ago dominated by the spoil heaps and pithead winding gear of the collieries, but those are now gone and the area's natural beauty has been restored.

The Customs House Arts Centre, situated in the Mill Dam conservation area hosts theatre,cinema, art gallery and restaurant and is open 363 days a year.

Westoe, Harton, Cleadon, East Boldon, Monkton and Whitburn are typical suburban villages offering traditional pubs, building styles and small shopping boutiques. There is a cricket ground at Whitburn village and another 2 located in Westoe.

Hebburn riverside is surprisingly green and open with views to the busy shipyards across-river at Wallsend.

The physical environment varies greatly in a small area: from industrial areas like Port of Tyne to business parks at Monkton and Boldon; traditional 'back to back' terraces to suburban housing; the River Tyne to the harbour, river entrance and open sea at Littlehaven; Marsden Quarry to the Great North Forest.

EcoCentre at Hebburn is a building constructed from recycled materials, self-reliant in power generation by means of its own wind turbine and is efficient in waste management.